When a new baby enters the world, the Finnish state sends the child's parents a cardboard box filled with clothes, burp cloths, toys, outerwear (Finland's chilly), a toothbrush, bibs, and plenty of other essentials that babies demand.

The box comes with a mattress, and once families take the rest of the contents out they can use the box as a crib.

The tradition began in 1938, when Finland's infant mortality rate was a staggering 65 deaths per 100,000 newborns — roughly the equivalent of present-day Pakistan. Sensing the problem lay with a lack of resources among new parents, the government began offering starter kits to low-income families.

The program was so successful that by 1949, the entire country was receiving pre-loaded baby boxes, regardless of the family's level of income. With that new legislation, says Heidi Liesivesi, spokesperson for KELA, Finland's social security benefits provider, the boxes gave mothers an incentive to stay healthy.

"Not only was it offered to all mothers-to-be but new legislation meant in order to get the grant, or maternity box, they had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy," Liesivesi told the BBC in 2013.

While the total dollar amount of an American baby shower may exceed that of a baby box, the practice is still social. There is no central body regulating what an expectant mother will receive — or not.

But baby boxes are a relatively simple, low-cost way to start children's lives on the right foot. And contrary to a widely held belief that the government is creating a literal nanny state, in that all infants will look the same, the boxes come in a wide variety of designs and are regularly updated.

Anton Danielsen, Heikki Tiittanen and Anssi Okkonen (L-R) the dads behind the Finnish Baby Box.
Attila Cser/Reuters
It's been so popular in recent years, in fact, that a handful of companies have started providing baby boxes to the masses.

The Finnish Baby Box, for instance, was started by three Finnish dads. It contains 50 items and retails for $455. Or there's the Baby Box Co., which is based out of California and offers a line of boxes ranging from $70 to $225.

The best part about the Finnish tradition is that it worked. Together with advances in modern medicine, the boxes have helped Finland's infant mortality rate fall to one of the lowest rates in the world, just 3.4 deaths per 100,000. The US rate is nearly double that.

In the event a family doesn't want the box, they can get $150 in cash. But as it goes with traditions of this sort, the monetary value generally isn't the most important part.